All About The Boobs

More than any other body part, breasts have divided the world: some nations condemn them as "taboo" and indecent, while others celebrate them as cultural - or even spiritual - icons. As Karen Ashley, Triumph Australia's national sales and marketing manager, asserts, "There is no other body part that is more in the spotlight than a woman's breasts." Billion-dollar industries have centred on their ability to sell everything from sex and lingerie to cars and power tools. They can stop traffic, create headlines, boost showbiz careers and spark controversy. We take a peek at a few fast facts...

USA: 70% of American women admit they are unhappy with the size of their bust.

Africa: The baring of breasts is a traditional form of public protest by women in Africa, a way of saying: "Listen to us - we're your mothers!"

South America: With a total of 192, Brazil has the world's largest network of breast-milk banks.

UK: The average woman wears a 12DD bra, making the UK the international cup-size capital.

Japan: Japan sells the highest number of small bra cup sizes in the world.

China China ranks #1 in the world for the number of breast augmentation surgeries.

Australia: 14c is the average bra size today, says Triumph's the shape report. It's a big change: in 2000, 12b was the average; in 1960 it was 10b.

How do we feel about our breasts?
24% of women think that their breasts are too small.

16% would go under the knife to increase their bust size.

20% think that their breasts are too large.

12% would have surgery to make their breasts smaller.

44% of us think they are just right.

With a whopping 78ZZZ bra size, adult-entertainment star Norma Stitz has long held the Guinness World Record as the woman with the world's biggest natural breasts. Stitz has vowed to never have them reduced, even though they weigh more than 18kg each.

In the past 50 years, bra sizes have tripled, with up to 40 per cent of Australian and New Zealand women now buying bras that have a cup size of DD or higher.

Experts blame the boost on obesity, the Pill and nutrition (we're eating up to four times more pork and chicken than 50 years ago). Plus puberty is starting earlier in girls, at around age 10.

A surgical breast-reduction procedure (which can help decrease back and neck strain) costs up to $12,500 in Australia, but Medicare and health funds may halve the expense.

The Right To Reveal

The Topfree Equal Rights Association campaigns to change laws in the US and Canada that let men bare their chests in public, but bans women from doing so.

Topless fans fought in court for their right to host the annual Boobs on Bikes topless motorbike parade in New Zealand, ruled by a local judge as "inoffensive".

Women caught topless on the beach in Dubai can be thrown into jail for six months under the emirate's public indecency laws.

47% of men glance at a woman's breasts first when they initially see her, a New Zealand university study found in 2009. Less than 20 per cent looked at a woman's face first.

Breast defense

A Japanese bikini model-turned-actress, Serena Kozakura, was acquitted on trespass charges because a re-creation of the alleged crime showed she couldn't possibly have fit into the space where she was said to have been trespassing because of her ample bosom.

Most women have one breast bigger than the other, and it's usually the left one.

Our breasts are most symmetrical between days 14 and 16 of our monthly cycle, due to hormones released during ovulation.

For more information on the Shape Report go to http://theartofshaping.com.au/.